I eat eggs every morning at 8:30am. I used to hate breakfast, but I’ve found that if I put aside some time to get ready in the morning, a routine can and will start to form. My day starts with eggs because without it, my morning would be a mess. I eat my eggs, get changed and then I drive to work. Having a routine in the morning makes me feel like I know exactly what is going to happen—there’s no room for the unknown. And it’s that fact that makes routines such a comfort zone.

We all have a comfort zone or two in our lives, for me it is having a routine; when I have a routine, I feel more confident in my day and in myself. If other aspects of my life go awry, I can feel secure in my daily routine. Comfort zones in and of themselves aren’t a bad thing. It’s when we let them become such a huge crutch in life that we cannot live without it.

If I stopped eating eggs every day, I would still survive, my days would be a little more hectic, I’d assume, but I could still make it through the day. I am not dependent on my eggs in the morning, but they help me to feel more confident in what will happen in my day. It’s something I can count on happening—it’s dependable. Plus, I mean eggs are really good, so why wouldn’t I want to make them every morning??

My day seems to go a lot smoother when I stick to a routine. The days I wake up late, because I hit snooze too many times, I’m less organized and I don’t feel like my day is all together.

There is a certain cohesiveness that happens when you’ve got a pattern that you can sink into.

I say sink into purposefully because that, at least for me, is literally what happens. I fall into a cycle, a pattern, a routine. It’s not rigid or hard, it just happens. This is what can also make comfort zones so dangerous—they happen so easily. Sometimes you don’t even know it happens. Before you know it, you’ve got yourself stuck in a habitual cycle that can be hard to break. Again, I’m not saying eating eggs every morning is going to turn into this, but being so high strung about having a routine could possibly turn into a destructive comfort zone.

There are three things that I think need to happen for a comfort zone to be and stay healthy.

You need to be aware of it. If you are always conscious of your comfort zone, then you will never have to worry about it getting out of your hands. Being conscious of it means knowing it’s there and what you need to do to keep it in place.

You need to know your limits. Setting boundary lines for yourself is an extremely healthy thing to do and it can create a good way to determine what your limits are. Take my routine for example. If I am planning every second of my day, that is going overboard. But setting lines on my routine, saying I’m only going to plan a few big things of my day, it creates a healthier routine and comfort zone for myself.

You need to keep yourself accountable. Whether that means asking someone to keep an eye out for you becoming complacent or apathetic towards things. Or if that means every week looking back and seeing where you did well and where you fell short regarding your comfort zone. Keeping yourself accountable is a very wise and strong thing to do.

Comfort zones can be a tricky thing, but regardless, they can be helpful in life. I know having a routine has been super beneficial for me in life. If your comfort zone is having a routine like me or whether it’s something a little different, it’s helpful to take some time to inspect where you are at with it and go forth healthily in it. As for me, I’m going to keep eating my eggs in the morning, because at the end of the day, it makes me a better person.